Val’s specialities are in the areas of information technology, cybersecurity, data protection and other compliance matters (including anti-bribery & corruption; modern day slavery legislation, freedom of information compliance and competition law), intellectual property and brand management & protection, and commercial contracts (particularly in the areas of health & social care, medical devices and technology generally).
Val is listed in the 'WWL Thought Leaders: Data' 2023 report for Data Privacy & Protection and Data Information Technology. She is also listed in Who’s Who Legal 2023 as an expert in the areas of Data Privacy & Protection and Information Technology.
Ranked as a Leader in the Field for Charities, Data Protection & Information Law and Information Technology in the 2024 edition of Chambers UK Guide to the Legal Profession, Val is described by clients as “brilliant, approachable and able to reduce the concepts down into words and phrases I can understand".
Val leads the firm’s Charities & Third Sector team where she has a particular interest in governance and trustee matters. Having previously been the Chair of the Independent Fundraising Standards and Adjudication Panel for Scotland, the independent body in Scotland which oversees complaints made about the fundraising practices of Scottish registered charities, she also has a focus on how governance relates to charity fundraising.
Val is also an Adjunct Professor at Loyola University in Chicago USA, where she teaches in the area of privacy law at the prestigious Beazley Institute for Health Law & policy.